Huawei Introduce Their Brand To India

Huawei have announced four new smartphones, the G620S and three in the Y-series, the Y336, Y541 and Y625, for the Indian market. These four smartphones share some common details - the Y-series models are 3G HSPA only whereas the G620S offers a 4G LTE radio. All four run Android 4.4 Kit Kat under Huawei's custom Android skin, called Emotion UI. Each also comes with a dual SIM arrangement and will be marketed through the company's offline distributor network consisting of a thousand stores in the initial stage, with the potential to branch out later.

To write about the Huawei G620S first, this smartphone has a leather-like back cover, which is perhaps a nod towards the 2014 Motorola Moto X and 2015 LG G4 flagship devices. Huawei's website shows that the G620S supports FDD bands one and three, plus TDD band 41 - it does not appear to support band 40, which is used for India. The device is built around a 5.0-inch, 720p (that is, 1,280 by 720 pixel) resolution IPS display. Under the skin, it's powered by a 1.2 GHz, 64-bit, quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, which is backed up by 1 GB of RAM and the Adreno 306 GPU. There's 8 GB of internal memory plus a MicroSD card slot, which supports cards of up to 32 GB in capacity. Around the back there's an 8MP rear camera complete with a flash and at the front, customers will find a 2MP front facing camera. The device includes the usual 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, an FM radio and is powered by a 2,000 mAh battery. The G620S will sell for Rs. 9,499.

The three Y-series models, the Y336, Y541 and Y625, will sell for Rs. 5,499, Rs. 6,499 and Rs. 8,499 respectively. These are something of a level down from the G620S device. The Y336 has a 4.0-inch, 800 by 80 pixel display and is powered by a 1.2 GHz, quad core, Spreadtrum 7731 processor, which is backed up by 512 MB of memory. There's 4 GB of internal storage plus a MicroSD card slot, which as with the G620S supports cards of up to 32 GB capacity. The Y336 includes a 5MP rear camera complete with a dual LED flash and a 2MP front facing camera for selfies and video calling. The Y336 is powered by a 1,730 mAh battery. The Y541 adds a 4.5-inch, 800 by 480 pixel display, boosts RAM up to 1 GB and internal storage to 8 GB, and the rear camera is up to an 8MP unit. However, it too has the same capacity 1,730 mAh battery. Finally, the Y625 increases the screen to a 5.0-inch, IPS panel but with the same 800 by 480 pixel resolution. It has a different processor, using a 1.2 GHz, quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor with 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB of internal memory (together with a 32 GB capable MicroSD slot). The rear camera is the 8MP unit and the front facing camera is the same 2MP as with the other three devices. There's a higher capacity, 2,000 mAh battery, however.

These devices are set to be released over the next few weeks into the Indian market. Allen Wang, President of Consumer Business Group, Huawei Telecommunications India, said this on the matter: "After the global success in the first half of 2015 with our smartphones sales crossing 50 million units, making us global number 3, we are excited to launch our "Huawei Brand" series in India. The good news is that the new series will be available through the retail route where our customers can experience the products first hand. Keeping in mind the value proposition and commitment we offer to our consumers, Huawei is rapidly strengthening its after sales network to serve them better."

I grew up with 8-bit computers and moved into PDAs in my professional life, using a number of devices from early Windows CE clamshells and later. Today, my main devices are a Nexus 5X, a Sony Xperia Z Tablet and a coffee cup.